The Story of Samo: Chapter Three, Part Three
Lasci sighed. He said, “You’re not going to make this easy for me, are you?” When he received no response from Kiara, he turned to Kia and said, “Perhaps you should start this out.”
“I’m pretty confused about all this, to tell the truth,” he answered.
Sighing again, Lasci said, “Fine. You both know that Samo is a member of the Inventors Order.” He waited for a response and, when he failed to get one, continued. “Gianan was well known as such also. Another well known member is Chancellor Naram.”
Kiara huffed and rolled her eyes. She said, “So what? What does this have to do with you having Samo arrested? Revenge?”
“No,” he said. “I am upset over losing my position, but I saw something different about him after I met with Naram.” He leaned back in his chair and linked his fingers together. “He asked me if I killed Gianan. Then he believed me when I told him I did not, and even asked for my help in finding the killer.”
“Did you kill him?” Both Kiara and Lasci were surprised to hear Kia ask the question. Lasci had been expecting it from Kiara. Instead, Kia leaned forward and said, “Were you lying to him?”
Lasci stared at him in shock and disbelief. He said, “Gianan se’Duas was my friend. Probably my only real friend, as a matter of fact. I did not kill him.”
“Then why did you have Samo arrested?” Kia asked, as if he were interrogating Lasci. “Don’t think of intimidating me, either. I don’t go to your school.”
“I thought you believed me, that I said I wanted to help.”
A sly grin grew on Kia’s face. He set his hand on the desk and said, “I did, but that doesn’t mean I trust you. The last time I saw you, before I left to get Kiara, was you bawling out my friend.”
Lasci said, “I see.” He removed the spectacles he wore and ran his thumb and forefinger over his eyes before massaging his temples slightly. Replacing the spectacles on his face, he repeated, “You’re not going to make this easy for me at all. I think the people who killed Gianan might want to kill your friend, as well.”
Kiara asked, “Do you know who killed him? Or why?”
“No, I don’t,” he answered. “However, I do believe there is a conspiracy here. Chancellor Naram knows a few things about it, but I don’t know what they are. I think it may have something to do with the research Gianan was doing.”
Sitting back, Kiara said, “What? That doesn’t make sense. Gianan was developing an internal combustion engine. Why would people have a problem with that?”
Lasci laughed, emitting a sound like a foghorn cut off in its prime. He said, “You don’t know the importance of that, do you?”
She shook her head. “Is it because of the Inventors? Because people hate them? Why would that-”
“It’s because people hate them. They blame them for what happened to Qatara in the war,” Lasci retorted, leaning forward onto his desk.
“That wasn’t their fault! Qatara had sided with Creas! He was using them for cannon fodder. Besides,” she said. “He would have killed them afterward anyway, as human sacrifices!”
Lasci shook his head. He was smiling, which set Kiara aback more than when he shouted. The man never smiled. Here, though, he was smiling, and he seemed truly pleased. He said, “Finally, someone who can actually think. I know all that. There’s something stopping the people from knowing it, though.”
Kia said, “What, a spell?”
“Perhaps, but something more insidious than that,” he said. “Political machinations.” Kia and Kiara both looked at him as if he had grown a second head that was purple with yellow pimples and spouted ancient poetry between filthy jokes.
Kiara laughed. She said, “Is that all? You made it sound like something was the end of the world!”
“Of course it could be the end of the world!” He stood and rubbed the back of his neck. “You don’t know what these people are trying to do. You don’t know the power they can have.”
“Well,” she answered. “I guess I know just what to do.”
Lasci turned to her. He said, “What? You don’t even know the details of what’s happening.”
“Do you?”
He sputtered some, but not as much as before. Stopping himself, he said, “No.”
“Well, she said. “I know exactly what to do. We level the city and start over again. Arrest all the political leaders, rise up against the government and rebuild the city, in a more organized fashion. Oh, we can keep some of the more historical buildings, but we just rebuild the city around them and use those politicians to work the machines.”
Lasci gaped at her and looked at Kia, who—to his dismay—seemed unfazed by the declaration of rebellion. He said, “Are you serious here? I’m not sure of who to fear more, Samo or you.”
She smiled sweetly. “Fear us both, professor. It would be the smart thing to do.”
“Perhaps it would.” He sat again and said, “I’ve told you all that I know. I wish I could help more.”
Kiara waved her hand and said, “Well, that much helps, anyway. Thank you.” She roughly took Kia by the arm and dragged him out. Once outside, she said, “Well, that was a filthy waste of time.”
Tales of the Inventor's War 